The word that best describes this year’s tax season is “chaos,” as taxpayers must now report on their taxes the status of their health care insurance.  One problem with this is that no one knows how…and even worse, the IRS says they can’t help anyone.  Only half of the expected 100 million Americans who call the IRS this year will even talk to a person—and even then, only the most basic questions will be answered.

“If somebody got married or divorced, had a baby, got a job, lost a job, anything that changes their income, those consumers needed to go back to the marketplace and update their information,” [Executive Director of the Tax Institute] Pickering said. “Most people didn’t know to do that or didn’t think to do it.”

The IRS will no longer be helping low-income people file their taxes, and those who file paper returns will see significant delays.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen says budget cuts are forcing the agency to reduce taxpayer services and other functions. The number of audits will decline, technology upgrades will be delayed and the agency might be forced to shut down and furlough workers for two days later this year, Koskinen said.

What are the short-term implications of this fiasco?  Pretty simple: One big cluster.  For some, it will be a costly nightmare.  For others, it will just be a good year to quit filing at all.

Epic fail…just like the President that spawned it all.